The steps of a good man are ordered by
the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him
with His hand.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

My soul is in deep lament and my heart cannot be comforted. Sleep
does not comfort. Food has no flavor. I sigh as I move about and do my work. Though I pour the pure
words of God’s soul into me morning and evening and meditate on
them day and night, I can find no peace. My prayers are a jumbled mess of
chaos. I know no words to comfort my soul, only lamenting and grieving.

My heart is grieved for those who have wandered and wander still. My soul is vexed
by those who have strayed from the fold and are among the rocks and forests
where those who would devour them lurk. They have turned aside in order to
pursue the works of their own hands. They have set up idols for themselves; not
the graven images of times past, but idols of themselves, of their money, of their possessions and even their own righteousness. They are comforted that
they have met the requirements of righteousness and continue feeding themselves
on the meat of their pride.

They do not heed the warnings of the Most High God. They are
confident in the work of their own hands and the strength of their own will.
They will not humble themselves and exalt the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
They seek Him only for a fleeting moment. They see Him as a reflection on the water and then turn away, forgetting what they have seen and not bringing Him
to mind again unless some calamity befalls them. And there will be calamities;
many of them. Like the pains of a woman about to give birth, calamities will
come. Stronger, deadlier, and more often will they come. They are a warning
that the wrath of the Most High God is poised to be let go upon a wicked people.

I am mocked because I call them to humble themselves
and seek the Lord. They accuse me of teaching falsehood because I call them to
humility before the Holy Lamb of God rather than praise them for their own righteous works. They ignore me when I cry out because they have
taken to themselves teachers and teachings which tickle their ears and comfort
them in their own righteousness. Their ears are stopped up. Their eyes do not
see. They have been struck mute. They have become like their idols. They refuse
to call out for mercy or to praise the Most High God.

They call me a dreamer and will not open their ears to hear
and their eyes to see. They scoff at my warnings. Though the warnings of my
lips are from a heart which is burdened for them and a soul which aches for
their delusion, they would toss me into a pit. They would wipe their hands and
rejoice that they were rid of me. Yet even from the pit I would cry out for
them to humble themselves and exalt the Lamb of God.

I am called a hypocrite because I was the worst among them. My sins reached to the depths of depravity, but I know the deliverance
of the Shepherd. I know the price paid by the Redeemer of my soul. I was among
the rocks and lost in the forest. The wolves and lions were all around me. They
had rushed upon me and would have torn me to pieces, but the Shepherd never
gave up seeking me. I heard the sound of His voice calling to me as the
enemy leapt upon me. I was wounded, but He found me, He lifted me to His shoulder and He carried
me back into His fold. He gave me new life and He will keep me in His presence
from now and forevermore.

Listen to me! Hear my cry! Feel the crushing weight of my
lament upon your hearts. Turn away from the works of your own hands. Do not
follow after your own will and the desires of your flesh. Turn away from the
idols you have set up for yourselves. Turn away from trusting in your own
righteousness. Turn away from believing that you have sealed yourselves for the
Kingdom of God. There is only one who can seal you in His kingdom; even the
Holy Lamb of God.

Fall on your face before the Most High God! Exalt the Holy
Lamb of God! He alone is worthy to receive glory, honor, power, riches and
blessings. He alone will save His people; the sheep of His pasture. He alone
has the power to turn back the lions and the wolves who would devour you. Do
not trust in your own counsel. Do not despise the warnings of the Most High.
Humble yourselves and exalt Him!

In
only a little while, He will come. For those of His fold, He will come to lead
them to greener pastures and give them rest beside still waters. But for those
who are proud and glory in the work of their own hands He will come as the Lion
of the Tribe of Judah. Out of His mouth will come a sharp sword and a rod will
be in His hand. Humble yourselves and cry out for mercy, you who would escape
His wrath. Silence your defense before Him and wait for Him to lift you up. For the King of Kings will have His dominion over all of creation.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Twenty something years ago, when I was teaching a Sunday school class, I did something for my own edification that I don't think I ever used outside of my own prayer and bible study. I organized the Psalms into different categories based on the model of the Lord's Prayer.I have been reading through the Psalms as my morning study for a couple of months and was coming to the end this morning. I was considering going back to Psalm 1 and starting over when I saw the notations in the Outline to Psalms I had made in my bible. I started looking at how I had categorized them and my eyes were drawn to those dealing with humility and deliverance. I read several of them and saw a pattern forming. I felt led to share that with you.If you read my recent blogs, you know that I have been looking at the signs of the Great American Eclipse and the Revelation 12 sign in a very different light than many. Though I don't predict any great apocalyptic events to surround these signs, I do believe that they are warnings, especially the eclipse.

Then God said, “Let there be lights
in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and
seasons, and for days and years. - Genesis 1:14

Throughout the scriptures, God has used signs in the heavens and especially eclipses as warnings to nations. The eclipse which passed over Nineveh when Jonah went to preach to them is one such occasion and it was a signal that Nineveh had 40 days to repent. In fact, Jesus referred to that sign when responding to the Pharisees in Matthew 16:4:

“A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and
no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And
He left them and departed.

I believe that we need to take whatever warning God is giving us in the eclipse of August 21st very seriously. There are two reasons for this.

Not only has the U.S. fallen away from the Lord as a nation, but nations throughout the world have fallen away. God calls on His people to humble themselves and seek Him in order to heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Because those involved in witchcraft, sorcery and satanic ritual consider eclipses to be highly spiritual, those who worship the powers of the darkness will be out in full force. Christians need to be fully armed against the demonic forces that are going to be released, for we do not struggle only against flesh and blood but also against principalities, spiritual powers and rulers of darkness. (Ephesians 6:12)

We should not cower in fear, predict some coming destruction, nor set dates for the rapture of the Church. Instead, we are called to humble ourselves and seek our Lord. Therefore, I believe it is timely, as things from God usually are, for me to share this arrangement of the Psalms with you beginning tomorrow morning, Friday, August 18th and extending forward for the next 42 days.

If My people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14

I will be posting these songs and meditations in both English and Spanish. They will contain a link to the Psalm in Bible Gateway as well as a point of focus and a passage of scripture for further study, nothing more.

My prayer is that we who are called by the name of Jesus will come together in focused prayer which will bring us to humility and direct our meditation on looking to our holy and sovereign King of kings for our deliverance.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Rather than giving warning after warning about the great
deceptions which have been among us, are among us and are coming, I am going to
help you focus on how to defeat any and all deception. It is simple to
understand, but takes diligence to fully accomplish.

What on earth was Jesus talking about? We were created with
ears and they work well for hearing all sorts of things. Why would we not be
able to hear what is there for us to hear?

I often return to this sentence when discussing discernment
and understanding. In context, Jesus was referring to the spiritual ability to
understand the parables He was telling. This is not difficult to interpret,
because it is very literally spelled out. Let’s gather in the context from
Matthew 13:3-17.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold,
a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell
by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony
places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up
because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were
scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell
among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on
good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He
who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to
them in parables?”

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been
given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has
not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will
have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away
from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do
not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them
the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

‘Hearing you will hear and shall not
understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes for they see,
and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many
prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and
did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

This is more than a statement of understanding and discernment.

Being able to come to an understanding of God’s word is
something that is granted to us by the Holy Spirit. We do not gain it from our
own knowledge and wisdom. Growing in faith or sanctification is a work of the
Holy Spirit, which prepares our spiritual bodies that were born when we were
regenerated by Jesus. This is not a difficult connection to make, but there is
another side to this coin which I have bumped into several times this past week
during my prayer and study time. I think it is important that I share it with
you, because it brings fuller meaning to what Jesus meant when He cried out, “He
who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

To unravel and reveal this further, let’s take a look at the
6th chapter of Isaiah from which Jesus quotes. This quotation comes
from the scene of Isaiah’s commissioning. Immediately after Isaiah responded, “Here
I am. Send me,” God responds with the words Jesus quoted. There is a train of
thought that I don’t want you to miss, so keep this scene in your mind as we visit
a passage in Romans 1:22-27:

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and
birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts
of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged
the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than
the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even
their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise
also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for
one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in
themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

God’s commission to Isaiah and this passage from Romans are
very much the same. God is delivering a stubborn and stiff-necked people over
to their sins.

“You wanna chaw? Then let’s chaw!”

On more than one occasion, I have heard stories of how
different individuals were broken of their bad habits through a method that is
pretty aggressive, but has been pretty successfully applied in the stories I’ve
heard. The story usually goes something like this:

I’ll never forget the day Pa caught me chewing tobacco. He
took me out behind the barn, sat me down on a stump, cut off a wad of tobacco
and stuffed it in my mouth.

“You wanna chaw?”

I shook my head, knowing the state he was in and that
responding with a yes was not my best option. After a few minutes with the chaw in my mouth, I leaned
forward to spit.

“Boy! If you spit, I’m going to knock you into next week!
You wanted to chaw, so let’s chaw!” Pa commanded.

Since I couldn’t spit, there was nowhere else for the black
juice built up in my mouth to go, so I swallowed it. The minute I did, I felt
things go off inside of me that I knew weren’t supposed to be happening. My
stomach was in rebellion, my head started spinning and I could feel my body
tingle all over. I looked into Pa’s eyes, which were cold as steel as he
watched me.

I’m not sure what it looks like on the outside when somebody
turns green, but I knew what it felt like on the inside. I could tell that it
wouldn’t be long before my insides would be trying to put themselves on the
outside.

“You like to chaw, huh?” Pa asked.

My response was to lean forward and explode into dumping the
contents of my mouth and my stomach out on the ground.

“Pretty pleasurable to chaw isn’t it, boy!” Pa mocked.

When I was finished spilling all that I had inside me on the
ground in front of that stump, Pa cut off another chunk of tobacco and put it
into my mouth. The scene repeated itself several times. I wasn’t sure if the
tobacco or my life would give out first. I finished the supply of tobacco I
had so proudly purchased some hours before, spilling that last chunk and the
black poison it had formed inside me onto the ground alongside all of the rest
of it.

Without a word, Pa got up and left. I was sick for three
days after that, but I ain’t never wanted a chaw since.

God gives those who rebel over to their sins

In the same manner as the story above, God gives those who
rebel against Him over to their sins. Besides our rebellion, what sin is He
giving us over to? The clues are found in the passage in Isaiah as well as
Jesus’ words when He quoted from it and are alluded to in two passages from
Psalms:

The idols of the nations are silver
and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
Those who make them are like them;So is everyone who trusts in them. - Psalm 115:4-8 and Psalm
135:15-18

Those who rebel against God are made
to be just like their idols

They become foolish, blind, deaf,
mute and dead, just like the images which they form for themselves. Jesus’ call
goes beyond discernment, but is a call to those who are not given over to
idols. It is a call to those who do not lust after the will of the flesh. In
terms that ought to penetrate to your core:

Jesus calls to those who do not put
their trust in silver and gold.

Jesus calls to those who do not put
their trust in the work of their hands.

Those who put their trust in those
things are guilty of worshiping idols and guilty of falling under what Paul
wrote in Romans 1:28-32:

And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased
mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all
unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they
are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning,
untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the
righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of
death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

How do we respond?

We respond by turning away from idols and exalting Jesus.
This was the cure for Israel and it is the cure for all of the generations down
through history. Jesus has rightful dominion over all the earth. Jesus is to be
exalted above all idols, teachings, works of our hands, all silver and gold,
all nations and kingdoms; ALL THINGS!

Both Psalm 115 and 135 end with the commands to:

Bless the Lord and Praise the Lord!

Those are not just commands for singing and worship, but attitudes of
humble submission and exaltation of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Do not
be led astray or deceived by idols, false teachings and trusting in the works
of your hands. Exalt Jesus and overcome the greatest deception of mankind.

Sunday, August 13, 2017

I am amazed at the explosion of “prophetic words” that are
springing up in every direction. Warnings of every kind are coming from the direction
of all four winds and the thousands of variations between them.The phrases, “God
told me,” or “God showed me,” or “God gave me a vision,” are used to lift a
person up to a supreme level of authority. After all, what authority is higher than
a word spoken directly by God? The problem becomes evident immediately
following that phrase of self-exaltation by the speaker. I’ve seen it over and
over and over. Though not a specific example, someone sharing these new
prophetic words might say:

“God came to me in a dream and told me that on November 14th,
2017, He is going to destroy America with an asteroid which will hit right in
the middle of Nebraska and touch off a series of earthquakes which will completely wipe
the United States of America off of the face of the earth.”

November 14th, 2017 comes without incident and
rolls over into November 15th and 16th and 17th,
etc. So, evidently, it wasn’t God who told them that an asteroid was going to
hit right in the middle of Nebraska. That ought to be a humbling experience and
cause a person to reconsider the source of their dreams and interpretations, right? Instead, they get a new “prophetic word” a few days later. This “prophetic word”
explains away their error concerning the other “prophetic word,” and these
people come up with a new date and a new “prophesy.”

THESE ARE FRAUDS

These are false prophets and false teachers who are being
used by Satan to deceive those who are weak. Through
their lies, he frustrates their faith and makes them begin to doubt. Those who
are truly weak in their faith, without the power of the Holy Spirit to teach
them discernment, might fall away completely, but consider this:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will
come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters,
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of
good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers
of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such
people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and
make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various
lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist
the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but
they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as
theirs also was. – 2 Timothy 3:1-9

This warning of Paul has applied for the past 2000 years, it
is actually, the nature of man, so, in some form, these things have always
existed. In my lifetime, these issues have multiplied exponentially. I have
allowed myself, on occasion, to be swept away by some of these things as well.
There is great appeal to some of these teachings, because they make our flesh tingle and give us something to grasp and hold onto; something we can sink our
fingers into. They seem reasonable and logical. In some cases, passages of
scripture can be found and manipulated in such a way as to make them appear
right. Just sit on that idea for a moment.

Jannes and Jambres

Though not specifically called out in Old Testament
scriptures, Jewish tradition named two of the sorcerers in Pharaoh’s palace as
Jannes and Jambres. In the passage above, Paul is referring to the following passage from Exodus
7:10-12:

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just
as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and
before his servants, and it became a serpent.But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so
the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their
enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents.
But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

Paul’s point is clear. Though something can sound and look like
the exact same thing as godliness, it is not and will be swallowed up by true
godliness. Eventually, those things which appear to be godly will reveal
themselves to be foolish. Yet even when they prove to be foolish, some people
continue to follow them, because they have a form of godliness, but deny its power.

What is a form of godliness?

I want to zero in on a phrase in Paul’s teaching to Timothy
above:

“having a form of godliness, but denying its power.”

What is a form of godliness? This is a question that I have
sought after for years, because I believed that within it is a profound
principle for changing our lives. I think I have finally narrowed it
down. To get at the root of it, I’m going to wander away for a moment to examine what is meant by the
word form. More specifically, I want to take a look at Plato’s Theory of Forms. Without going into too great of detail, here is how Wikipedia defines this
philosophical theory:

Forms theory is Plato's argument that non-physical
(but substantial) forms (or ideas) represent the most accurate reality.When used in this sense, the word form or idea is
often capitalized.Plato speaks of these entities only through the
characters (primarily Socrates) of his dialogues who sometimes suggest
that these Forms are the only objects of study that can provide knowledge; thus
even apart from the very controversial status of the theory, Plato's own views
are much in doubt.However, the theory is considered a
classical solution to the problem of universals.

This philosophy, in essence, says that there is a perfect
conception of the things that we see and don’t see, which helps to define
what a thing is. A dog is derived from a perfect conception of dogness, so to
speak. Honesty is derived from a perfect conception of honesty which we cannot
see, but can define because of the concept or idea of honesty. It is pretty logical and
reasonable on the surface. It is the only way we can truly define things and come to
some understanding of them from our limited, human perspective.

Because of Timothy’s Greek roots, I believe Paul was talking about this theory when he used the phrase, “form of godliness.” So, using Form
Theory, there is a perfect conception of godliness which defines godliness. Likely, that conception is formed by the religious traditions of your family and/or church. From that conception, we come to define and gain knowledge of godliness, but
that is not necessarily true godliness. Why? Because though our knowledge of godliness might define
it for us, it is lacking the power of godliness. What is it lacking?

What do forms of godliness lack?

Knowledge of God, knowledge of Jesus and even professing
that Jesus is Lord do not measure up to godliness. That’s a little bit scary when you first
look at it, though it should not surprise you because Jesus said, “not everyone
one who calls me Lord will enter into the Kingdom.” (Matt. 7:21) So, what power
is being denied? Ezekiel 37:1-10 gives us a wonderful picture:

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me
out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley;
and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by
them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open
valley; and indeed they were very dry.

And He said to me,
“Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to
them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!

Thus says the
Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into
you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon
you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you
shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied,
there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone
to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and
the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son
of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the
four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may
live.”’”

So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them,
and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

The bones rose up and took on the form of men, but they were
not made alive until the breath of God entered into them. Genesis 2:7 says, “And
the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
being.” The breath of God coming into mankind is what brought him to life in
the beginning and is what brings us to life in our new birth. In our new birth,
this breath of God is His Holy Spirit.

What does the Holy Spirit do?

To answer his question, let’s look at what Jesus said about
the Holy Spirit:

·Reinforces Jesus’ teachings. “But theHelper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach
you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” –
John 14:26

·Bears Witness of Jesus. “But
when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of
truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” – John 15:26

·Guides you in truth. “However, when He, the
Spirit of truth, has come, He will guideyouinto
all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but
whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things
to come.” – John 16:13

The Holy Spirit will testify to the truth and He will guide
you in the truth. That truth has already been written down. God’s plan for the
salvation of His people has already been laid out and revealed. We come to understand
it and apply the power of our rebirth to our lives when, by the Holy Spirit, we
are given eyes to see and ears to hear.

“You can’t handle the truth!”

In reality, this statement is truer than the scriptwriter
for the movie really understood. You can’t handle the truth. You can’t know the
truth through looking at its forms. The power of the truth cannot be grasped
hold of and you cannot sink your fingers into it.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed
are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for fleshandblood has
not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” –
Matthew 16:17

This was Jesus’ response to Peter’s confession of faith. This
statement should drive all of us into a state of humility concerning our own
confession of faith. Our flesh and blood does not reveal to us the truth of
Jesus’ Lordship.Our forms of godliness do not bring us to the truth. The Holy
Spirit comes to us and testifies to us concerning who Jesus is before we ever come to any
understanding of Him or confession of faith. We don't save ourselves through some great choice we make. We are saved because understanding is given to us from above. Following that initial confession, little by little, we are guided into a deeper truth by the
Word of God and His Spirit opening our eyes and ears to recognizing it.

Why We Do Not Need New Prophesies

We’ve come full circle. You ought to have a solid grip on
the phrase, “having a form of godliness, but denying the power.” How does that
apply to the subject of this post? It’s simple really. If the Holy Spirit
guides those who are His own in all truth, He is going to begin our guiding
using His already revealed Word (I capitalize it because the first chapter of
John declares that Jesus is the Word).Knowing and understanding the Word is an
act of humility and submission rather than an act of increasing our knowledge and wisdom. Those who exalt themselves with the words “God
told me…” or “God showed me in a dream…” need to check themselves and their
egos.

How should we interpret the signs we see today?

We are seeing portions of prophesy fulfilled today. I won't deny that. Because these signs have increased in both frequency and intensity (like a woman in labor), we are probably seeing the beginning of the end unfold in front of us, but the day and hour has been revealed to no one and we are to immediately discount the testimony of anyone who says they do know the day and hour. It begins with humility and self-control. Here is an example:

I have had visions; some very clear ones. Some of my visions seemed to have set certain dates for certain events, but when I checked them against scripture, they did not work out unless I added my own knowledge of scripture to them and manipulated them to fit. Instead of declaring those dates to be some great future event, I looked to their
purpose in how they apply to my weakness and limited understanding instead of throwing their weight onto everyone else.In most dreams and visions which we have we are not being given some new, special revelation about how God is going to
carry out his plan of redemption or to formulate some date. God's plan of redemption and destruction is already laid out. His prophets revealed His plan through thousands of years of preaching and writing.I have no special knowledge beyond what was given to the writers of scripture, in fact, the last chapter of Revelation even warns us of the consequences of assuming that we can add to or take away from what is written in God's Word. Rather than being inspired toward pride, it is better to err on the side of caution and humble yourself. If you need an illustration of this look at the calls of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and how they responded to God's call to prophesy.

From the visions I have seen, I have searched
God’s prophesies and warnings throughout scripture and come to a single
conclusion every time. It is no special knowledge but a path to follow through the already revealed Word. I’ve spelled it out in a number of different ways in my writings over the last few years.
Here it is in simple form:

We must humble ourselves before the Holy Lamb of God.

We
need to stop assuming that we will leisurely skate (a prideful attitude) into heaven by our own knowledge and
good works, and recognize that salvation comes from the Lord. (Ephesians 2)

Our salvation did not come from flesh and blood; it was not our
decision which saved us. We were as dead as those dry bones in Ezekiel 37 until life was
breathed into us and then we began to believe. We were brought to confess Jesus as Lord in the exact same way as Peter was. (Matt. 16:3-18)

Holding onto some form of
godliness (family and church traditions, theological outlines, books we've read, carefully crafted timelines, etc.), which we have chosen as our hope, guide and assurance, will lead us to
foolishness. (Galatians 3)

Our Holy Lamb has laid out the path for us; He guides us in His
truth and teaches us how to discern the truth of His scriptures from the lies
which are all around us. (Revelation 7:16-17)

Though we stumble, in my case stumble so far that I
dug a deep pit for myself when I fell, Jesus, by the power of His Holy Spirit,
will lift us up again and finish the work which he began in us. (Philippians 1:6)

We should not
look to our flesh, which can only understand things by their forms, but put our
flesh to death and embrace our new birth through the power of Jesus' redemption. (Romans 7)

Salvation comes from
the Lord and we ought to be looking in His direction rather than focusing on
our own weak understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

We must focus ourselves on this:

You shall lovetheLord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. –
Deuteronomy 6:5

This should be our response to the sound of Jesus’ voice as
He calls to us through His Word and by His Spirit, even when He shows us a clear vision.It was not Gideon's doubt which made him lay out the fleeces, nor did God see it as an insult or testing of God, it was sound obedience on Gideon's part to discern the Spirit. (Judges 6)Humbling ourselves and testing the spirits against the Word of God is our defense against
false teachers and false prophets and the great assurance of our salvation. Paul gives us an emphatic command concerning those who have a form of godliness, but deny the power:

And from such people turn away!

That statement includes depending upon our own, flesh. We should not trust our own knowledge and flesh, ought to thoroughly examine our own motivations, and flee from those which do not line up with God's Word.We are to turn away, run away and stay away from these people and their teachings. Running away does you no good unless you have somewhere to run to. Run to the Holy Lamb of God and abide in Him (John 15), for without Him, we have only a form of godliness, but deny its power.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

The enormous hype surrounding the “Great American Eclipse,” is not only coming from secular sources, but is also coming from those who profess to be Christians in what might be best referred to as the New Age Prophecy Movement. This movement, in which Jesus seems to be scattering prophetic wisdom and visions among anyone with a YouTube channel, is dangerous and deceptive. Following right on the tail of the Great American Eclipse is the Revelation 12 sign on September 23rd.

CHRISTIAN BEWARE!!!

Let me back up one moment before going further with this. Are these prophetic signs fulfilling prophesy? Yes, they are. Look at this passage from Genesis 1:14-15:

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

So, yes, these are signs. God has sent them as a message to His people. We are to take them seriously.

BUT…

These are not signals for, nor do they give license to setting dates and/or declaring prophetic woes upon any nations or people. Furthermore, for anyone to claim that some great prophetic word came to them in a vision, a dream or some particular experience (perhaps a particularly difficult bowel movement) flies directly in the face of the Word of God. Consider this:

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. - Revelation 22:18-19

This is a serious warning and it applies to the whole of scripture. To add to or declare God’s judgments beyond what He has laid out in His Holy Word is dangerous ground. We can speculate to the meanings of these signs, of course, but we do so examining the scriptures in order to understand what signals God is sending us through His signs. It DOES NOT mean that we can set dates for the rapture and declare that God is going to destroy America or make any other such statements.

These Are Warnings

When you hear the distinctive rattle of the tail of a diamondback snake, what does it tell you? When you see the hackles standing up on a dog’s back, it has its teeth bared, and it is growling, what sort of sign is it giving you? They are warnings to back off from whatever you are doing. When God sent Moses to Egypt to demand that Pharaoh free the Israelites, He gave signs and warnings of the consequences of Pharaoh’s disobedience. Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Nathan, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the prophets throughout the Old Testament gave warnings. There was always a single warning… Back off from what you are doing! Repent and turn to the Holy God!

God backed up His warnings with His signs. Why? God wants us to understand that HE controls the universe. Let me give you a tiny sample of what God’s warnings declare:

“Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is frozen.

“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the belt of Orion?
Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season?
Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?
Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?

“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
Who has put wisdom in the mind?
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together? – Job 38:25-38

Chapters 38 through 41 are filled with an example of God’s complete sovereignty over ALL of creation. The message is clear. I AM WHO I AM (Genesis 3:14). God existed before creation and will continue to exist without any challenge to His existence. He does not have to answer to anyone or do anything that anyone commands. He is God and He is Holy. His signs are before us in every moment of every day and in every single aspect of our lives. But when He puts signs in the heavens, He does it for the purpose of letting us know that we need to HUMBLE ourselves before Him and pay attention. We need to back off from what we are doing, repent of our errors and focus on His Holiness.

For those who are wondering what the specific purpose of these most recent signs are about, let me give you a hint. These are signs to let you know that God will no longer bear the rejection of His son, Jesus, nor the disobedience of His law. He will no longer tolerate the challenges to His sovereignty and that includes those of you who call yourselves Christians, yet believe that your will, your words or your works will somehow sanctify you in the sight of the Holy God.

Jesus Is Wholly and Holy God

Just in case you are one of those who thinks that sweet Jesus surely isn’t involved in the coming judgments had better take another look at how you view Jesus. In the 8th chapter of John, when the Pharisees were questioning Jesus’ authority, He responded to them with a simple statement which infuriated them to the point of trying to kill Him:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Those are the exact same words which God said to Moses when He was asked by what authority Moses was to say he was making his demands. Jesus is not a wall flower. He is God. He is in on the judgment that is to come. In fact, He is THE major player in carrying out the judgments. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is coming with a rod of iron.

Make no mistake; Jesus’ wrath will be terrible!

But there is hope. Those who hear His call, repent of their sins and turn to Him as the hope of their salvation will be saved from the Day of Wrath.

Let me list a few of the warning signs:

·There are currently more than 30 active volcanoes worldwide.

·On a daily basis, there are more than 100 earthquakes worldwide, more than a dozen every day are stronger than 4.0.

·In the past six months, there have been major floods on every continent in the world, on many of those continents several times over.

·There are famines taking place in numerous regions of the world.

·There have been fireballs coming through our atmosphere in vast numbers. On some occasions there have been more than 50 within a twenty four hour period.

·The radiation produced by the sun in the last six months has nearly doubled in intensity.

·There are spot wars all over the world and rumors of war. We are a hair’s breadth from a major global conflict.

Jesus told us that these things would be like birth pains of a woman who is about to give birth. From that we can understand that they will increase in frequency and intensity until the fullness of time is complete. The command that everyone is missing when they look to the prophetic words of Jesus is this one:

“Look up, for your redemption draws near!”

That doesn’t mean gaze into the heavens and wonder what’s coming next and then make a YouTube video about your speculations. That means look toward the HOLY ONE!!! Don’t look within yourself, don’t look to your church, carefully crafted theologies that tickle your ears, don’t look to your neighbors, your family or your friends. Don’t look toward your religious practices, LOOK TOWARD THE HOLY GOD. Fall on your knees and humble yourself before the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Be CAREFUL! Do not be deceived by the numerous false teachers. Do not be fearful or in a panic. Turn your focus onto the Holy Lamb of God who lives, reigns and has dominion over heaven and earth. Look to HIM, Jesus, for your salvation.

The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

Sheep don't wear wool; they grow it.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. - Matthew 7:15

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